


Cecil's Scientist

by maze413



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Carlos Cooks, Fluff, M/M, Movie Night, Nightmare mention, Positive Cecilos Fic Drive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-31
Updated: 2014-03-31
Packaged: 2018-01-17 18:17:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1397749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maze413/pseuds/maze413
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cecil comes home after a stressful day at work, and Carlos has his own non-Night Valian remedies.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cecil's Scientist

**Author's Note:**

> This is a short, quick fic I wrote a few days after the episode "A Blinking Light up on the Mountain." I never did publish it, so I figured now was as good a time as any.

“Caaaarlos,” a familiar voice flooded the house, entering the room and bringing anticipation with it. “I’m home.”

The heart of the scientist who resided in the modest home began beating faster. Adrenaline flooded his veins, and butterflies filled his stomach. He was not afraid of the voice, but just the opposite; it was one of the things he loved most. Nervous clarity still filled his thoughts whenever he heard it, even though had heard it uncountable times before. It was so smooth, the words it carried full of pure endearment. It seemed so surreal to him real, but at the same time, many things in this town seemed just as unbelievable.

Before he had the chance to turn around a pair of arms were wrapped around his chest, giving him a tight squeeze before lightly draping themselves over his shoulders.

“I see you finally decided to make supper for once,” their owner teased him before giving him a peck on the cheek.

“Twice,” Carlos corrected him, trying to keep his voice steady as the kiss made him even more flustered. “I made dinner last night as well, don’t you remember? When I told you about the mirage?”

Cecil chuckled in response.

“That doesn’t count, and you know it. This time you weren’t encouraged by anyone.”

His warm embrace loosened as he left Carlos’s side. The scientist watched as Cecil walked to the kitchen table and sat down. He couldn’t help but observe every detail of his significant other’s movements. Normally he carried himself very confidently, his head held high on his shoulders. That evening, however, he slouched a bit with the weight of a long day on his shoulders. His actions were still as smooth as his words as the man gracefully lowered himself into his chair. Although he was tired, Carlos realized that Cecil’s moments were always incredibly fluid.

Carlos brushed his fingers against the oven timer, the neon numbers flickering as he set it to an hour’s time. He wandered from the oven to the table. He sat across from Cecil, who had rested his head on a balled up hand. The other man barely noticed his presence.

“Bad day at work?”

Returning to the waking world from a head lost in thought, Cecil glanced up at Carlos with curious eyes. He adjusted his posture and turned, directly facing Carlos again before responding.

“I thought you said you were going to be too busy to listen today." He paused a moment before giving into the urge to rant. "You see, it started when we finally heard from John Peters, you know, the farmer? We could barely understand his message, and I had to, like, spend the _entire_ morning trying to help translate it and at the same time continue my usual broadcast, which...”

Cecil's voice continued to carry on, but Carlos stopped listening. His eyes were focused on the pair in front of his. Cecil's eyes, unlike any eyes he had ever seen before, looked straight into his. In them he saw trust and one or two incomprehensible secrets of the universe. But maybe that was just him.

Carlos studied the entirety of his face. Cecil's eyebrows, furrowed with stress yet still shaped just right, and his perfectly full lips were all decided by a random chance of certain proteins interacting. And yet, those microscopic genes made another creature so strangely attractive to him. He learned years ago how and why these chemical reactions in the brain made a pair of the same species so irresistible to one another, but he had never truly understood those feelings of desire until now.

Without stopping Cecil's spiel Carlos reached out a single hand and wrapped it around the back of Cecil's head. He pulled him forward and interrupted his banter with a kiss. He felt the perfectly shaped lips press against his own before he pulled himself back. Cecil's eyes widened, but his eyebrows continued to crease in mild frustration.

“Carlos, I was talking—”

“Today's over with.” Carlos stopped him, “Just relax. You shouldn't be under so much stress. It's not healthy.”

The concern in Cecil's face finally melted.

“Fine. You're right, I shouldn't worry about it.” He took a deep breath, sighing.

“Besides,” Carlos grinned, “I have a surprise for you.”

 

 

* * *

“What even _is_ meatloaf?”

“I’ve told you a hundred times, Cecil. I still can't believe you haven't heard of it before.”

“I think you made the recipe up. Like the mountains. Do people who live on mountains eat meatloaf, Carlos?”

“People don't usually live on mountains, but they probably do.”

Hunched over, Carlos was fiddling with the DVD player. Its controls where written in strange glyphs he'd never seen before. Considering it was a DVD player, it was relatively easy to decipher, but the tray for the disc would only open for a fraction of a second, making it nearly impossible to get the DVD in before it shut. Trying to hold the tray open, Cecil had once warned, could easily make you dislocate your shoulder. Either that, or pull your hand in with it and cause you to lose a few fingers to the void.

Finally, Carlos successfully dropped the DVD in. The disc landed crooked, righting itself as it was instantly thrust into the player. Various characters flashed on the digital screen, trying to tell the illiterate reader that the disc was loading. This time, they read a slightly modified version of Greek.

The scientist backtracked to the couch, watching the player as if at any moment the DVD   would eject and be thrown back at him. He successfully made it to the safety of Cecil's side without a scratch and all ten fingers.

“This movie's called _Raiders of the Lost Ark_. Ever heard of it?”

Cecil nodded, his arms crossed and disinterest clear in his eyes.

“I tried watching it when I was a child. If I remember correctly, it bored me to sleep. Then again, I could be thinking of _The Outsiders_.”

Carlos gave him a double take.

“You can't be serious.” He looked back at the title screen on the TV. He couldn’t comprehend how it was possible for anyone to sleep during Indian Jones. “It must've been a different movie. Come on, I know you'll like it.”

With that, Carlos took the remote (relabeled to read English) and pressed the play button. It almost surprised Carlos as the movie began to play without a hitch.

Carlos leaned back in his seat, and Cecil leaned against him. His head rested against Carlos's shoulder. He snuggled closer to the scientist as he got settled. As the movie began to play, it was clear that Cecil wasn’t paying attention. He reached his arm behind Carlos’s back. His fingers intertwined with his hair, twisting it around his digits and playing with it. Ever so carefully he pulled fine tangles out of the longer than normal locks, as if grooming the precious strands.

Carlos, on the other hand, was sitting straight, although most of his weight was shifted on the armrest. He acted oblivious to Cecil's affection as he tried to pay attention to the movie. After approximately sixty minutes of action and explosions, Cecil’s body slowly edged closer to Carlos’s. Slumping down, his head landed in Carlos’s lap, sound asleep.

Carlos couldn’t help but smile. He carefully slid his hand out from under the other man, placing it instead on his arm, lightly stroking the fabric of his shirt. He took his other hand, picked up the remote, and paused the ongoing film.

“You’re unbelievable,” he murmured.

Carlos watched him sleep for a few moments. He looked completely at peace; his chest slowly rose and fell with every gentle breath. The normally dreamlike man looked completely… human, Carlos thought. Completely real and _there_ , in his own lap, no less.       He moved his hand up to Cecil’s face, grazing his thumb against his cheek.

Not long after turning off the lamp next to them, Carlos gradually dozed off.

* * *

“No!

“No, stop! I mean no harm! Please, stop!”

“ _Carlos…_ ”

“Stop! Stop attacking me…!”

“Carlos!”

The scientist’s eyes flew open, his lungs gasping for breath as he awoke. He had difficulty focusing on the face in front of his. It’s was Cecil’s; his eyes were wide and his jaw was tightly clenched.

“Are you alright?” He desperately questioned, “You were dreaming and you started yelling, and whatever terrible things were happening to you I couldn’t wake you up—”

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Carlos muttered, resting his face in his hands and peering through his fingers with tired eyes. “It was the miniature city. The one from the bowling alley. They were attacking me.”

“Oh, Carlos…” Cecil wrapped his arms around him, squeezing him tight enough to make it difficult to breathe. “I knew you shouldn’t have messed with that bloodthirsty village, it was far too dangerous…”

“Cecil, I’m fine. It was just a dream.”

“But it wasn’t. They nearly killed you.” Cecil let go of him and looked into his eyes, his normally flawless voice beginning to crack. “I almost lost you that day, Carlos. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I did.”

“I'm sorry. I didn't realize...”

A short silence filled the air.

“I won't do anything that reckless again,” Carlos finally promised. “Not without at least asking you.”

“Thank you,” Cecil mouthed the words more than he said them, his voice barely loud enough to be heard.

“I love you, Cecil. I want you to know that."

“I...” The man was speechless. “I love you, too.”

The two slowly leaned towards each other. They met with their mouths and once again Carlos felt the perfectly shaped lips press against his own. It was a short kiss; Cecil broke away after what felt like only an instant later, gazing into his eyes again.

After only a few moments Carlos caught himself beginning to yawn. He broke eye contact long enough to glance at his watch and realized it was early in the morning. It was too early not to go back to sleep for a few more hours.

“Let's rest together longer,” he said, leaning back again. Cecil in turn reclaimed his previous spot, more than happy to do so. He again wrapped his arm around the scientist, and Carlos's eyelids immediately felt heavy. He could not have been more comfortable.

“Good night, Carlos,” Cecil said, “Good night.”


End file.
